Clinton Township Newsletter

2 4 s e p t e m b e r 2 0 2 2 W W W . C L I N T O N T W P N E W S L E T T E R . C O M This September, Clinton Three Q went to the Clinton Township Organic Community Garden, located in the rear of Bundt Park, to explore what's been 'growing on'... C3Q: Hello, Nancy Slota, Chairperson of the OCG! I thought the growing season was starting to wrap up for the fall, but things are in full bloom! What's going on at this year's OCG? NS: We currently have o v e r 1 2 0 p l o t s , a n d have about 100 families as members. We have an extremely diverse membership; we have families with newborns, and our eldest member i s 1 0 2 t h i s y e a r ! Gardening is one of those activities that knows no boundaries a n d r e a l l y u n i t e s people with different b a c k g r o u n d s . W e have members who live i n C l i n t o n Township but were born in so many different places; Taiwan, Korea, Zimbabwe, the Caribbean, South Africa, India, and Mexico... it's incredible! From my perspective, it's so interesting to meet people from all over the world, to get the opportunity to meet and volunteer alongside others, and gain exposure to different types of herbs, fruits, and vegetables, and to get different ideas on how to use them in new ways. Personally, my favorite things to grow now are things that I didn't know existed before meeting some of the other members and asking, "What is that? How do you use that?" Everyone loves to talk about that. You can approach anyone in the garden and ask about what they're growing, and they love to share their knowledge. It's a really great way to learn about other cultures. Gardening is so vast; it's just a great platform to talk to others to create bonds. Not only does gardening provide recreation, but it also provides socialization with a common goal. For people with children, you can easily connect with others in the community through school, but if you don't have school-age children, it's harder to find ways to connect in your community and build relationships. With community gardening, you can connect, grow some nutritious food, and save some money! Right now, we have a waitlist, but we always have turnover, as people's lives are constantly changing along with demands on their time, so the wait is usually not too long. Our website has details about membership and volunteer expectations. Membership demands were higher during the pandemic...gardening was something that everyone suddenly wanted to do! When everyone was locked in, we were outside, gardening in the fresh air. Gardening is very therapeutic! Sometimes in life, it feels like we are spinning our wheels to make progress and we can't see that progress, but when you pull a weed, it's tangible and you can see progress, and it's very rewarding! C3Q: How did the Garden get its start, how have things changed, and where are you going? NS: So the garden began as a nonprofit organization in 2012, and a driving force behind its beginning was Harmen Voss, a Clinton Township Councilman at the time. He saw a piece of land that wasn't being utilized, and mobilized some people for a community garden effort. I was just a gardener who got the last available plot in 2012. There were 38 full-size plots (about 450 sq ft). It was very basic, just a fenced area and a bunch of spaces marked out for plots. Change was slow, but every year we got a little bit better; better at learning what worked for the garden, what worked for people, and at encouraging members to be involved. For example, we started offering different plot sizes to meet different needs. In 2019, we added water with the help of Eagle Scout Keval Rubinchik. The Township had installed a new well with a line up to the garden, and Keval trenched four feet deep all around the garden and installed spigots. We also expanded the fence line and got chickens. Although the eggs are a nice perk, the goal with the chickens was to unite volunteers over a common love and to take care of something together as a group, and excite more volunteerism and give volunteers a more diverse and exciting task to do together other t h a n w e e d i n g . It was a pivotal m o m e n t i n o u r volunteerism. Today, we have volunteers who weedwack, take care of the chickens, host get- togethers. We try to keep it interesting! The OCG contains toolsheds with shared supplies, and now there are honeybees on the periphery, which help to pollinate the garden and i n c r e a s e t h e h a r v e s t . N e w this year is the Outreach Garden, where we've reserved s p a c e f o r m e m b e r s o f t h e community who might struggle to garden on their own, such as elderly community members or groups that have special needs. We are also doing some work to give back to the community via growing food specifically for food banks. C3Q: Do you have any advice for gardeners out there and tidbits of wisdom? NS: I think that people don't realize that there's a whole f a l l g r o w i n g season, there's a lot you can do in the fall. This is when you get y o u r t a s t i e s t b r o c c o l i , c a u l i f l o w e r , beets, carrots, spinach, napa c a b b a g e s , and especially t h i n g s t h a t are harvested o n c e a f r o s t h a p p e n s . . . t h i n g s l i k e b r o c c o l i a n d k a l e a r e actually sweeter once 'kissed by frost'! My favorite thing to do in the fall is to think ahead and plant garlic in late October, which gets harvested in June of the next year. Also important for fall gardening is all the prep work for the next year, such as cleaning things up, working the soil, and adding amendments to the soil, such as compost, manure, leaves, which will shred and enrich things for the upcoming year. There are always failures, and that's important for a beginning gardener to know. But I think it's important to not think of it as a failure, but as an opportunity to learn something new or learn something different. When something dies in my garden or doesn't work out how I expect, it's now free space, and I say, "What can I grow now?" There are always different seasons and times to plant throughout the year, and it puts you in the spot to turn it into an opportunity, instead of a failure. Thank you so much, Nancy, and keep growing! n Rachel Sprague, a resident of Clinton Township, has a degree in journalism from Rutgers. With her husband Russell, Rachel is raising two young children in the Clinton Township School District. She thinks that Clinton Township is a delightful place to live. Welcome to with Rachel Sprague * C linton ree Questions *

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